here and there

I told her I was sorry I hadn’t come last week. She responded by saying, “well, I was wondering when we were going to get to that little matter!”.
I’m not sure she even realized I wasn’t there, but she did seem glad to see us.

If you could be praying for us, it would be much appreciated.

I never bring Mama up when I visit, but Grandmother was so used to seeing her. She asked me four different times why Mama hadn’t come in so long. I tried to explain as simply and gently as possible that she is gone now.

She asked Courtney two more times in the lunch area. The last time, she hung her head and asked Courtney what she had done wrong. 🙁

It breaks my heart to watch her have to experience this grief over and over.

Overall, we had a great time with her. She informed me at some point that she thought she was getting too old to be in the “old folks home”.

I had taken some things to decorate her room. Nothing too elaborate, but just a touch of fall. Her favorite was the wreath we found. She always loved to have a holiday wreath on her door and she was so happy to have one on the door of her room. She said over and over how beautiful it was…she told me fall has always been her favorite time of year (mine, too!).

It was fun to sit and chat with her for a while.

Courtney and I left the nursing home and went to the cemetery.

I have been trying to figure out how to scrub the rust stains off of my Great-Grandmother’s big stone. I took something yesterday and scrubbed and scrubbed. They don’t budge. Anyone have some ideas?

We had gone by the local craft store to find a new arrangement for her grave. They really didn’t have much (in fact, nothing!). We did find a simple bouquet. Courtney had the idea of adding it to a basket and anchoring it to the ground. I added a bow and a couple of fall leaves my children had made.

It’s not perfect, but it will work for a season until we figure something else out, or find appropriate arrangements again. (It’s unbelievable how difficult they are to find!)